Religion in Candide by Voltaire Essay

Every culture has almost a religion in the world. A religion is a collection of beliefs, views and cultural characteristics that completely reflects the culture and relate humanity. Religion continues to effect the people of any culture for a long time. In the books which they read, ın the places which they go or even ın their thoughts in which on their heads, religion is an important phenomenon for them. In world literature, there are many books which are written on this issue.One of the books is ‘Candide’. In this essay, we will analyse that how Voltaire’s portrait of religious figures is in ‘Candide’. In this book Voltaire portrays several religious groups and on these religious groups he conveys his opinions.
Voltaire often criticizes the religious figures of the times in ‘Candide’. His criticism of religion surfaces through the whole story. There are many figures that Voltaire criticizes and one of them is Jacques the Anabaptist. This is Voltaire’s satire. The Anabaptists are Christians who are in the radical reformation in the 16th century. During this period, the Anabaptists made a claim that resisted the Roman Catholic Church by expressing that baptism was reserved for only believers. Voltaire said that Jacques was a good Anabaptist in the ‘Candide’ though he was never baptized. The Anabaptist represents a solution or viewpoint of the sufferings. Anabaptist is a member of a radical sixteenth-century Christianity in which is a sect of the Reformation He cares for Candide and Pangloss. Pangloss says Candide that
‘Private misfortunes contribute to the general good, so that the more private misfortunes there are, the more we find that all is well’(pg 31) The kindness of the Anabaptist that Candide meets, sho...

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...status. There is a irony situation that one of the main principles of the Jesuits is social justice. Pangloss and his religious authorities say that ‘received this present from a very learned Franciscian monk who owed it to a marquise, who caught it from a Jesuit’(pg 38). This shows that Voltaire’s view of them is selfish and snooty. However, it is suggested that the Jesuits see themselves better than the other religion sects.
In conclusion, in ‘Candide’, there are so many attacks and criticism on religion. Voltaire criticise the religion figures in a different ways. He attacked the religious figures by showing an example in which they judged the people. He criticised the corruption of the people who
work in religious ministry by writing about the life of the daughter of Pope and he attacked the intricacy of religion by showing the benefits of the religion.

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